-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- While he 's enormously concerned about what secrets self-avowed NSA leaker Edward Snowden may yet spill , President Barack Obama said Thursday he 's not going to take extraordinary measures to capture him .

`` I 'm not going to be scrambling jets to get a 29-year-old hacker , '' he told reporters during a news conference in Senegal , his first stop on a tour of several African nations .

Obama had n't talked to leaders of China and Russia about Snowden -- who actually turned 30 a few days ago -- in part because he did n't want to amp up the issue and have to start `` wheeling and dealing '' in order to get the fugitive in U.S. custody .

In a speech Thursday , National Security Agency director Keith Alexander ceded he 's worried there may be more leaks from Snowden .

`` These leaks have caused significant and irreversible damage to our nation 's security , '' Alexander said . '' ... What is going on , in these leaks , is unconscionable in my opinion , it hurts our nation and our allies . And it 's flat wrong . ''

Snowden has said he gave reporters information about secret surveillance out of concern these programs violate privacy rights and put too much power in the hands of government officials .

As Snowden seeks asylum , U.S. bides its time

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said Tuesday his country would consider a formal request for political asylum from Snowden -- which it had n't then received -- and Foreign Minister Elias Jaua reiterated that position Thursday .

Another Latin American country , Ecuador , is probably Snowden 's most widely rumored destination -- and subject of a growing spat with the United States because of it . Snowden has sought asylum there , the same country that has already agreed to shelter WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange , albeit at its embassy in London .

On Wednesday , U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez , D-New Jersey , said he would move to block Ecuador from two U.S. free-trade programs should Snowden go there .

`` Our government will not reward countries for bad behavior , '' he said .

4 options for the U.S. to get Snowden back

Ecuadorian presidential spokesman Fernando Alvarado responded Thursday by saying his the nation would spare Menendez and his Senate colleagues the trouble .

`` We will not accept any threats or pressure from anyone , '' Alvarado told reporters . `` We will not deal or trade in our principles . No matter how important the trade advantage may be . ''

The programs in question are n't free-trade agreements but U.S. laws that do n't require Ecuadorian consent , so Alvarado 's declaration may have little more than a symbolic effect .

`` I 'm not sure you can really withdraw from them one way or another , '' State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell said .

While he did n't offer specifics , Ventrell did say he 'd expect `` grave difficulties '' in relations if Ecuador granted Snowden asylum .

The two countries have been at odds publicly , but remain linked economically . Ecuador , for instance , sent about $ 9.6 billion of goods to the United States in 2011 , according to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative .

The head of the Ecuadorian Business Committee said he 's worried that `` very important '' commerce between the two nations could be negatively impacted as a result of this tiff .

`` It 's a risk to give asylum to Snowden because the United States , they could consider some economic sanction , including commercial sanctions , '' said Roberto Aspiazu .

Still in Moscow

Snowden apparently remained in limbo at Moscow 's airport , a free man according to Russian officials but with limited options .

Why would Snowden head for Ecuador ?

He did n't appear to board Thursday 's flight from Moscow to Havana , where he had been rumored to be heading on his way to Ecuador or some other safe haven .

While he has applied to Ecuador for asylum , that request has not yet been `` dealt with '' because Snowden is not in the country , Ecuadorian Political Affairs Secretary Betty Tola told reporters . She denied the country granted Snowden refugee travel papers , as Assange told reporters this week .

Opinion : Why Ecuador might shelter Snowden

Assange said Snowden traveled from Hong Kong to Moscow on Sunday using documents provided by Ecuador .

Other governments have not specified what documents the former CIA employee and National Security Agency contractor used to leave the semi-autonomous Chinese territory , where he had gone to leak details of secret U.S. telephone and Internet surveillance programs .

U.S. officials have accused China of deliberately letting Snowden leave . And they have expressed frustration with Russia 's refusal to detain a man they portray almost as a common criminal -- on par with seven Russian fugitives U.S. officials have repeatedly said they handed over to Russia in the past two years despite the lack of an extradition treaty .

Snowden and others have contended that he did America and the world a service by revealing information on secret programs , which they say wrongly impinge on people 's right to privacy in furtively giving too much information to the U.S. government .

But in his speech Thursday in Baltimore , the head of the National Security Agency argued -- as he 's done repeatedly in recent weeks -- that the programs both protect civil liberties and help keep America and its allies safe .

Alexander pointed to 54 related cases that Congress was informed about , of which 50 led to arrests or detentions . Most of these were centered overseas , with 13 exceptions such as a foiled 2009 plot to bomb New York City 's subway system . Exposing the programs , he and others have said , makes it harder to spot terrorists and thus puts lives at risk .

`` I believe the irresponsible release of classified information about these programs will have a long-term detrimental impact on the intelligence community 's ability to detect future attacks , '' Alexander said . `` These leaks have inflamed and sensationalized , for ignoble purposes , the work that -LRB- the -RRB- intelligence community does lawfully , over strict oversight and compliance . ''

Possible Snowden posts

On Wednesday , the technology website Ars Technica published portions of chat logs it said show comments from 2009 by someone using a forum name Snowden was known to have used . The comments criticized people who leak national security information .

Commenting on New York Times reporting based on leaks related to confidential surveillance programs involving Iran , the poster compared the newspaper to WikiLeaks -- which enraged U.S. officials by disclosing thousands of confidential diplomatic cables .

`` Are they TRYING to start a war ? '' the poster wrote . `` you do n't put that s *** in the NEWSPAPER . ''

Ars Techica said it could not be certain the poster was Snowden , but information revealed in the posts matches biographical information he has since publicly revealed . CNN could not verify the posts ' authenticity .

If they were written by Snowden , they offer insight into his thinking at a time when he apparently was more accepting of government surveillance programs .

According to Ars Technica , the poster said of the New York Times and its reporting on secret surveillance programs , `` these are the same people who blew the whole ` we could listen to osama 's cell phone ' thingthe same people who screwed us on wiretappingover and over and over againThank god they 're going out of business . ''

Four years later , Snowden would provide news organizations in the United States and the United Kingdom with classified information he acknowledged copying and taking from his job as a computer contractor for the NSA in Hawaii .

Where could Snowden go next ?

CNN 's Greg Botelho , Matthew Chance , Carol Cratty , Elise Labott , Vivian Kam , Adam Levine , Catherine E. Shoichet and Joseph Netto contributed to this report .

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NEW : Leaks caused `` irreversible damage to our nation 's security , '' NSA chief says

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NEW : A Venezuelan official reiterates his nation 's openness to accepting Snowden

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President Obama says he does n't want to make deals to get Snowden

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Ecuador renounces U.S. trade benefits in the tiff over the asylum bid